The Bear by Claire Cameron (I’m never camping again)

Okay, blogglings, be amazed! This is NOT a young-adult book! (gasp) I know. I’m sort of nearly maybe almost entering the adult world. But of course, the adult books that I like are…narrated by 5-year-olds.

Thank you Random House Australia for the ARC! The Bear by Claire Cameron hit shelves on February 14th, 2014.

A powerfully suspenseful story narrated by a young girl who must fend for herself and her little brother after a brutal bear attack.While camping with her family on a remote island, five-year-old Anna awakes in the night to the sound of her mother screaming. A rogue black bear, 300 pounds of fury, is attacking the family’s campsite, pouncing on her parents as prey.

At her dying mother’s faint urging, Anna manages to get her brother into the family’s canoe and paddle away. But when the canoe dumps the two children on the edge of the woods, and the sister and brother must battle hunger, the elements, and a dangerous wilderness, we see Anna’s heartbreaking love for her family–and her struggle to be brave when nothing in her world seems safe anymore.

Told in the honest, raw voice of five-year-old Anna, this is a riveting story of love, courage, and survival.

This was both freaky and well written and…did I mention it was freaky?

Also: I’m never camping again.Which is slightly illogical, because I live in Australia and we don’t even have bears. But still.

Characters? The book is narrated by 5-year-old Anna Whyte. A lot of the story rests on her style of narration — which includes things a 5-year-old will concentrate on: cookies and her stuffed bear. And don’t worry, the irony of her favourite stuffed animal being a bear? Talk about torturing the reader. Anna was pretty advanced cognitively developed for a 5-year-old. That saying, I don’t think she acted unrealistically or out of character.

But then we have her nearly-3-year-old brother “Stick”. I struggled with his character because I have a 3-year-old nephew and Stick was way too advanced for a toddler (particularly a boy. And I’m not being sexist here! It’s just true that little boys are often…babies for a lot longer). He had his own “language” which only Anna fully understood. But he strung together full sentences. He didn’t cry a lot. Aaaand…he slept on command. When a little kid is getting “beyond it” (too tired, too hungry, too cranky) they end up screaming one word: NO. I’m a babysitter so I also know this for a fact for lots of 3-year-olds.Stick just didn’t seem 2-years-old.

The writing is pretty thick and clumpy. It’s a very definite style. The paragraphs are long. The sentences are long. It takes 100% concentration, which I confess isn’t my strong point. (Come on. Don’t we all suddenly find ourselves dreaming about cheesecake while we read? At some point?)

But the style…oh gosh, the style is amazing! I was so absorbed in the story and Anna’s perspective. She’s incredibly written! While I can understand why this book wouldn’t be for everyone, I’m totally enthralled with books that step out of the “norm” and try daring styles and voices. If they pull it off, it’s unbelievable. And The Bear totally pulled it off.

I was freaked out! The description? Anna describes things as she sees them and how they relate to her life. How she described the after-bear-attack scene…can I scream now or later? Anna describes one thing, but we (the readers) really know what’s happening. It’s like reading a book in two languages! At face-value it’s simple (the camp is a mess), underneath we know the “wetness” is blood and the “whispers” of the mother means she’s dying not sleeping.

My only disappointment is the plot. I thought there’d be more survival. But a lot of it is Anna reflecting on what life was like back at home. That’s cute and cool and all…but I expected a survival/horror story. The jello-story was cute but didn’t really apply.

All in all, my heart broke for Anna and Stick. Someone rescue these babies and take them home!

If you never really liked camping and you want an excuse to avoid it forever? Read this book. You’ll be cured. Beware the bear. And pack cookies.

Cait has never seen a bear. She never wants to see a bear. She likes Disney’s movie Brave except for the bear. Why do children have stuffed toy bears anyway? Who said, “Hey, let’s commercialise a predator for kids to cuddle!” What were they thinking exactly? On another topic, she’s reading BLINDSIDED and thinking about cheesecake.

Oh, I'm with you there! These Broken Stars reminded me of Hatchet more than the Titanic…as it is so being compared to. Weird, that. *shrugs* I mean, their big ship went down, but that wasn't even HALF the story. That was like the pre-story-snack.

Me? Scare you children? Moo was watching a "scawy movie" when Xave and me got home from church. He told me, "But it's not weal." And I said, "yes, it's just pretend."We had to go downstairs and play games with numbers and letters to calm ourselves.

The GIFS maketh the review. This sounds frighteningly good. It's creepy to imagine a five year old describing something horrific in their childlike words, when the reader knows what's truly happening. My goodness, this would have left me a bundle of nerves.On another note, I have a fear of bears too. My delinquent parents sat me down in front of the TV was I was a little monster, to watch what they thought was an adorable mother and cub, turns out it was actually a horror movie. I'm pretty sure it was this one http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074593/ I'm still quietly rocking myself to sleep.

Oh. Yes, I would definitely put that movie on for my child. Doesn't the front cover maybe indicate…something…scary? I remember my mum reading a story about a bear in Alaska that ate everybody. I must have been about 8. She quit reading it halfway through, because you know, violence and all that stuff. Mime was 4. Ha. I should remind mum of that book…

wow, that book sounds really great! I am a little sad too that there is not more survival/horror in it since I really like that too.Like you I like it when the author experiments whith the words and writing-style… Maybe it is worth a shot?

Oh, I definitely think it is! It's on the tougher side to read , but I just loved the style/characters. But I guess there's not so much survival stuff you can do realistically with two children under 5? Still! The back-blurb-vagueness strikes again!

I was so pumped to see that you read and enjoyed this because I have a copy and wasn't sure what to think of it. We DO have bears where I live (right in the woods behind my house actually), so I fully expect to be freaked out by this.Also, if you're looking for a good survival story, check out Terry Lynn Johnson's ICE DOGS. It's really good… kind of reminded me of books by Gary Paulsen and Jean Craighead George!Aaaand teddy bears gained popularity because of US President Teddy Roosevelt. I can't even remember why it ended up being a bear exactly, but that's why they're called "teddy" bears. haha.

Oh. Well. Lock all the doors when you're reading it. I was freaked and look at me! I'm in AUSTRALIA for crying out loud! Oooh! ICE DOGS sounds extremely awesome and promising. I'll see if my library has it. *dashes to library website*AND IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW. Teddy Roosevelt…ah. But honestly? I hope you don't get a president called Snakey Bob or something, because that's really going to freak out the small impressionable children.

Sounds really creepy!! I'm not one for camping in the "wilderness" anyways, because of the cold, the spiders, and whatever else is lurking out there, for example bears!! But I will have to pick up a copy of The Bear and give it a try! Thanks for your awesome review!Lisa http://www.turningpages94.blogspot.com

This sounds awesome…and very, very creepy! I loved Hatchet when I was younger, so I'm really excited for this one! Although it's a shame that it's more of Anna reflecting on her life vs. actually surviving…Anyway…I'm so glad the characters were sufficient for you Cait! Anna sounds like an awesome character overall, and I'm glad she was enjoyable! But, yeah…I'm with you on Stick. Almost every two-year-old I have known has been in the "Terrible Two's" phase, so I agree that Stick's maturity seems a little unrealistic.And the writing sounds fabulous! Definitely excited to read it for myself! Thanks so much for sharing Cait! I haven't heard of this one prior to your review, but it's definitely on my TBR list now! 😀

I read ALL the Hatchet books when I was small(er). I don't think the sequels were quite as good, but I still loved them…even the snowy one! Gah! All these memories, maybe I should dig them out for a loving reread…My nephew JUST turned 3, and he still just says "no" to everything. Bless him. I know different personalities for children play into this, but I could never see my nephew, as a 2 year old, actually doing/saying/sleeping like Stick did.

Oh my goodness, this sounds hardcore, I need to get my hands on this one right away! I have not heard of it before, thanks for introducing me! P.s. Boo is my all-time favorite!Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

I live in Canada, so bears are a very real thing here haha. I also love camping, something tells me this book will make me reconsider lol. I find it quite interesting that the narrator is only 5 years old, yet witnesses something that I couldn't even handle and is put in a very adult role of caring for her brother. Great review, thanks for putting this one on my radar (:

I know! It's very original, I think. I see a few books like this around, and I know they don't get very high-ranks, but I LOVE THEM and I think they're works of really intriguing writing and cleverness and *stops for breath* just all round awesome.

Oh dear God. Never want to go camping. EVER AGAIN. Only reading the summary and your review and I'm downright terrified. That being said, I do want to get my hands on this book… Geez. Great review! -Marianne

Wow, this sounds just scary and being told in a 5 year old's perspective sounds magical. And really, really creepy because we know what is going on. Sort of reminds me of Room by Emma Donoghue. Great review, (and I hate camping anyway)

I actually just added this book to my TBR list the other day because I saw a great write-up for it in Entertainment Weekly. I LOVE survival stories and this one sounds amazing! I'm so glad you loved it! I'm a bit worried about the age of the narrator (I didn't like Emma Donoghue's ROOM partly for that reason), but I'm willing to chance it. Because hey, BEARS.Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

Exactly. BEARS. The younger narrator maaaay be an issue for you then, but I did quite like her narration and thought patterns. I just wish the paragraphs had been a bit shorter. They tended to all merge together until it was like a FULL PAGE of block text. My brain exploded a few times. It was messy.

Goannas. And snakes. And big fat frogs in the bathroom. I know frogs won't kill you…but who knows? One day we might come across a rouge-death-eating frog and all die. It's better to stay home where it's warm and safe and there's internet.